No air conditioning in vans as Albert Heijn, Picnic delivery staff face extreme heat
Many Albert Heijn delivery drivers are driving around without air conditioning in their vehicles. “At the time, no air conditioning was installed because of the maximum permitted weight of the vehicles, which are already heavy due to the equipment and the groceries they normally carry,” a spokesperson said to NOS.
This is currently the case for the non-electric vehicles owned by the supermarket chain. Albert Heijn did not disclose how many vans lack air conditioning.
Albert Heijn will stop all home grocery deliveries across the Netherlands from 3 p.m. today, saying that under code red heat conditions and without proper cooling, it is no longer safe to send staff out. Drivers of larger distribution trucks will be given more time, and scheduling pressure has been eased throughout the logistics chain.
The spokesperson refers to “a wide range of measures” the company is taking to deal with the heat, including handing out ice cream. Delivery drivers are also advised not to rush and to park the van in the shade.
Picnic, whose smaller electric vehicle also lacks air conditioning, is suspending deliveries during the hottest part of the day, with a temporary halt between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Deliveries will instead take place in the early morning and evening hours to avoid peak temperatures. Drivers are also being equipped with caps, sunscreen, and water bottles to help them cope with the heat.
Parcel delivery vans used by PostNL are typically equipped with air conditioning, allowing drivers to operate in a cooled cabin. Letter carriers, however, deliver mail on foot or by bicycle and do not benefit from such cooling systems.
PostNL has halted standard mail and postbox deliveries for the day across eight of the hardest-hit provinces due to extreme heat, including Utrecht, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Noord-Brabant, and Gelderland.
Only urgent medical and funeral mail will still be delivered. Parcel services continue as normal thanks to air-conditioned vehicles, but drivers are working with longer breaks and modified schedules.
